Millions in drugs seized at border

Authorities discovered 34 packages of methamphetamine hidden in a secret compartment behind the back seat of a Chevy Malibu around 4 p.m. Sunday at the border near Otay Mesa.
— U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Authorities discovered 34 packages of methamphetamine hidden in a secret compartment behind the back seat of a Chevy Malibu around 4 p.m. Sunday at the border near Otay Mesa.
/ U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Border officers seized nearly 600 pounds of drugs worth more than $4 million during four incidents last week, federal officials said Tuesday.

The first seizure happened about 7:30 a.m. on Friday near Calexico, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release.

Officers discovered 80 pounds of drugs worth about $920,000 hidden inside the gas tank of a Chevrolet Silverado pickup. The driver, a 69-year-old man from Mexico, was arrested.

A second seizure occurred on Friday at 6:47 p.m. when a driver in a Freightliner tractor pulling a trailer attempted to cross the border near Calexico, the news release said.

An inspection unveiled 299 pounds of marijuana worth around $180,000 packaged within a shipment of decorative stone. The 35-year-old male driver from Mexico was arrested, officials said.

Another drug seizure occurred at the Otay Mesa crossing at 4:14 p.m. Sunday when officers found 22 pounds of liquid methamphetamine stashed in juice cans in the trunk of a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu and 34 additional packages of methamphetamine in a hidden cache behind the back seat.

The drugs were worth around $1 million, according to the news release said. The female driver, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen from El Monte, was arrested.

The fourth seizure happened near the San Ysidro crossing around 6 p.m. Sunday.

During vehicle inspections, a drug dog alerted officers to a gas tank in Ford F-150 pickup. More than 100 pounds of liquid methamphetamine worth about $2.14 million was found.

Two U.S. citizens, a 32-year-old male driver and a 36-year-old female passenger, were arrested.